Process of rolling sheets



March 5, 1929. J. B. TYTUS PROCESS OF ROLLING SHEETS Filed July 1925 Patented Mar. 5, 1929 "UNIT D 1ST H v 1,104,640 ATES, PATETW OFFICE.

JOHN :5. Trans, on mnnrnrowiv, 01110, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN'ROLLING MILL COMPANY, or MIDDLETOWN, onto, A conrona'rrou or 01110..

T PROCESS OF RQLLINGSHEETS.

Application filed July 3, 1925. Serial No. 41,441.

My invention relates to processes for dproducing sheet metal in rolling mills, and e with continuous processes, in which the metal is reduced by passing it between rolls under v pressure, without rerolling the piece or pack in any individual stand of rolls The elementary object of a continuous process of rolling, of the type defined, is to cut down labor costs by the reduction of the number of men employed. Thus for a mill which has a series of stands or rolls with the piece passingfrom one to the other fairly rapidly there is required but a single crew for the entire mill instead of a crew for eachindividual mill, and a much greater production in a given time.

Another feature of continuous processes of metal reduction in rolls, where. economy is gained, is the time factor and labor factor in the matter of heating of the pieces or packs, in

order to bring them toproper condition'for roll treatment.

A brief outline of the lVelsh system of roll ing, as it'is called, should first'be given in order to properly express the novelty inherent in the invention Which'I design to cover in this application. The Welsh system of rolling involv es the use of sheet bars, as a first step insheet production, which bars are short lengths of a long bar, having a length equal to substantially the desired width of the finalproduct. The sheet bars are heated to a proper degree, and are then given a rough rolling to reduce them to rough plate. Two bars are ordinarily used, and are passed in succession through a single stand of rolls,

.knownas roughing rolls, until they have been lengthened suflicientlyto make a satisfactory pack.

The pack is then heated sufficiently to receive subsequent rolling treatment, and the pieces when brought out of the furnace are placed one over the other and passed through a stand of finishing rolls, caught by operatives afteraeach pass, and thrust back'over the top of the stand for repeated passes.

When a required reduction in thickness is accomplished the pack may be doubled over on itself, and again heated, to the required degree, whereupon it is brought-out of the furnace and given further passes through the finishing stand;

The final produc-tis completed when the pack is as long. less such rough ends as there maybe, to fill the order being rolled.

A careful calculation is made in producnassuEnals ing and cutting up the sheet bar, so that the cubic contents ofthe sheet bars used in used for a packfand packs are matched in-.

stead of doubling, which do not depart from the general practice outlined. The essential of the Welsh process is the use of a single stand of finishing rolls for all but the roughing out of the plateforming the pack, and the use of sheet bars, for forming the pieces in the rough pack, with such intermediate heatmg as may be required.

. formed of a series of stands of rolls, through which hot pieces of a length and thickness suitable for a desired finished product are passed, but in which the'original pieces are much longer than a sheet bar-turned cross- The reason for this is that I have wise. found it impractical to feeda piece as short as a sheet bar turned crosswise, through a mill operating on a piece in successive stands only, with rapid reduction in a number of .passes at a single heating.

My invention also involves, as a natural consequence of using larger pieces to begin with, and the desire to cut downthe required number of finishing passes on the.

packs, the production in the first stage of continuous rolling of individual pieces of considerable length as compared to rough plateused in forming packs.

These pieces are then matched and given a finishing treatment in pack form in anotlier mill through which the packs move continuously in a sin 'le direction only.

I have .fodnd that with the use of the preliminary continuous reduction process, above noted,- that means must be provided to deliver to the rolling mill, a rapid succession of pieces at uniform, correct temperature,and of accurately gauged solid contents and wi'dtLSuch a means I provide.

My invention involves thefuse 8f mills his not within the range of accuracy of a high speed continuous mill, however, to accomplish-exactly the same attenuation or extension of each piece, although each piece will have the same solid contents.

It has been proposed a number of times in the prior art to rovide a continuous process from bar to finis ed pack, but in all instances with which I am familiar, the designers of proposed mill for the purpose have thought 1t necessary to provide for mechanical matching without stopping the progression of the 5 pieces any more than required. On paper thi would appear to "result in a saving, but

in matter of fact, it fails to take into conslderation any inequalities there are in len gth of the roughed out pieces. L

Thus it is part of my process to provide for storage and selection of pieces in'the sta e between the individual rolling and pack ro ing. At this stage the continuity of the process is broken, which appears contrary to the teaching of the theoretical work of the past.

The enforced stop for selection enables me to have the packs for further treatment made up of pieces which approximate each other in length, thereby saving the likelihood of runining a large number of packs in which there are different lengths of metal. The attempt to roll such improper packs will be without results because the several elements thereof require different treatment in spite of the fact that the solid contents of each element is the same.

Also the arrangement of a rolling plant for continuous treatment in which there is a stop for the product between the individual and the pack rolli'ng', permits of processing the metal before finishing, which has been found to be quite desirable in some'instances. e

'. acontinuous process of rollingmetal, beginning with a slab or bar which is wide and thick, and moving the pieces individually through successive passes in successive stands of rolls, then stopplng the pieces and letting them cool, for purposes of selection, matching and pickling or other surface treatment, and having treated, selected and matched the individual pieces, to form packs of them and in a continuous manner to provide a finishing treatment to finegauges. 1

The process of bringing the matched pieces 01'. packs up to requireduniform temperature for the finishing operation, it is my object to accomplish in a continuous manner, by moving the matched pieces, or the selected pieces which it is intended to make into packs, 1n a succession through a heating device which first brings the "pieces or matched ieces or packs into-the presence of a high eat, to rapidly. bring them up to tempera; ture, and then subjects them to a temperature which is more nearly the desired final temperature in order to balance the effect given by the rapid heating, providing uniformly heated pieces. Following this heating, it is my preferred be required in this particular instance due object to finish the packs in acontinuous manner by successive passes through successive finishing stands of rolls. L

' I accomplish my objects'in part b the use of mechanical devices: to act on t e metal being used, and these I have illustrated in a preferred form in the drawing. In connection with a description of the drawing I will point out in more detail my inventionp and will set forth in the appended claims the iness.

In the drawing I show a single figure continued in several zones showing in diagrammatic fashion a mechanical arrangement suitable for carrying out my process.

It should be primarily noted that the heating device used at the start of my process covered herein, is shown and described in pending-applications, as are the mills for treating individual pieces in a continuous manner. The general process from ingot to finished sheet is covered in other applications for process patents, and various mechanical devices shown or ndicated, are also covered in pendingapplications.

Thus while it might not be required in any event to go into mechanical detail in illustrating and describing my'invention, it will not to the full disclosure of the various instrumentalities in copending applications.

I have illustrated a furnace 1, through which a long heated piece is passed into engagement with a shears 2. The shears is arranged to cut off exactly graded pieces I which pass into the mill formed of the seven stands of rolls indicated at 3. The operation of this shears taken together with the width of the long piece, and the thickness 105 thereof, provides the control for the complete operation. In other words a careful calculation is made to provide cut ofii' pieces of uniform w ght, i. e., each to have a uniform dimension throughout.

The pieces pass through the stands of rolls 3, which are run ra idly, and the pieces pass from one stand to mother through the complete mill, without a reheating. The rolls are kept cool by means of water, and the stands are made as rigid as possible to permit of the desired reductions I When the pieces are finished, they will ordinarily be of a length suitable for commercial purposes, as products now made in a so called jobbing mill. V v

The pieces when designed for subsequent fiirther reduction in matched packs or doubled form, will be usually twice as long as the desired packs which will be used in the fin- 125 roughing portion of the Welsh process, and 130 vention which appears inherent in my procset of stands, will ordinarily be carried as quired. far as practical without matching or douv I than others, due to thepreliminary individual The product as it comes from the first mill treatment, the final product maybe the same, is then moved into storaige'space, instead of since all packs will be'cut to have the same being carried on a continuous table to the mass, or Weight, and the shorter packs will re.- matcher and finishing mill. t a .a

During the storage period the pieces bethe required finished gauge, and length. It come cool, and maybe pickled, or surface is usual to providemore metal than called for treated in any. desired way. 'All pieces will by the order toallow for uneven ends on'the beof practically uniform weight, but in spite packs, which have to be trimmed away. of every precaution, they will be found to have While my process is -'designed particularly unequal lengths. for use in continuous finishing mills, it would After such surface treatment as is desired be (if value in connection with use of the packs the operatives will sort; the product which is from the furnace 5, in individual stands of to be used in the sheet mill, bringing pieces rolls,used as in the Welsh process,'th at reroll of like length together, and assembling the the same piece a number of times until-it has a succession is maintained of'selecte-d pieces is to be judged by the ratio of the thickness" pieces for each order to ether,- for. running reached the desired length, and hence gauge. them through the sheet finishing rocess. WVith the sorting step in the middle of the When sorted, it will be prefer-a 1e tohave proce ss,it lsmade possible for the men in con- 'While some of the packs will be longer the reduction carried on in the first mill or correcting the line ofmovement, whererequire a greater reduction to bring them to the pieces matched, that is to; say laid ontop trol of the sheet mill, to be advised of the of each other in' desired thicknesses and gauges of the packs furnishedto them, and brought generally into co-ordinated position also of the contour of the packs. of superimposition, although this matching As-per my invention stated in other apmay be deferred until after heating, provided plications for patent, the contour of a pack suitable for matching because of having the at the center to the thickness at the edges, same length. Alsodoubling could be pracand in order to provide a piece which will ticed-instead of matching, and I have used pass smoothly-through each finishing stand, the word pack to refer to either; itis required that the adjustments, and vari- Presuming apreliminary matching, the ous involyed factors be controlled .to the end matched pieces may then be cut into the reof providing an active pass for thepacks in quired length for packs, or this cutting may each stand which has a, contour less convex be postponed until after heating. It will be than the pack entering the pass. v

- With advance knowledge of the gauge andpresumedthat the cutting is done after heat- I g f contour of packs being furnished to the mul- In this instance the matched pieces are ti-standsheet mill, the roller can prepare-in placed into a furnace havin sections 4 and 5, advance for such variations" as occur, and

ofv which the section 4 is siibjected to a high following the contour principle just stated,

heat to bring the pieces up rapidly in tempercan develop a: technique which will result in ature, and the section 5 is subjected to a a smooth rolling of the product furnished soaking heat approximately that at which to him. Without this advance knowledge, it is desired to deliver thepieces to the first however, such as may be obtained through a stand of the finishing mill. I holding and selection of the product from The furnace will be provided with a conwhich packs are made, it will be difiicult for veying element, that. moves the matched the rollerto handle all packs as they come pieces along, so as to deliver the ends through even in runnin through the same order. the portion 5 of the furnace to a shears 6, that It is not believed to be necessary to recuts up the matched pieces into packs. state the process, as thedirections as to how As stated, the usual run of commercial orto proceed, thereasons for the procedure ders and various features of the particular and a diagram of a mechanism for following process described, will provide matched pieces out the preferred procedure have been given ofztwice the length of the desired packs. in the above matter; I

The packs will move from the shears, to the Having thus described my invention, what series of stands of rolls 7', with intermediate- I claim as new and desire to secure by Letfurnaces 8, which provide for a retention of ters Patent, is v proper temperature, and maintenance of uni- 1. In a metal rolling process, the steps-of form temperature of the packs during the providing a succession of thick pieces of unistages of reduction. These standsalso may be form dimensions and mass and uniform heat,

kept cool by the use of water, or they may be passing said pieces successively through a. run hot. There will be suflicient space besuccession, of stands of rolls to reduce them tween he roll stands and the furnace to perto long thin bodies in a single thickness, withmit operatives to manipulate the packs'thus out reheating, permitting said thin bodies to.

keeping them from welding together, and cool and sorting them into like lengths, forming packs of the like lengths, providing for the packs to be heated by passing said packs, or the material from which to form said packs by means of a conveyor through a fur} naceat heat higher than desired for the packs, then through a furnace kept at a heat which is substantially that desired for the packs, and finally finishing said packs in successive relation, by passes through a suc- I reduce. them without reheating to long thin bodies, permitting said bodies to cool, sorting them intolike lengths without shearing, forming heated packs of more than one thick: ness of bodies of like length, shearing said .packs to a desired length being of at the most half the length of the bodies from which they are made, and rolling said packs to finished gauge. Y

3. That metal rolling process which consists in forming long thin metal bodies by continuous roll action on pieces of a single thickness, permitting said pieces to cool, and sorting them into like lengths without shearing, forming heated packs of the like lengths, shearing said packs to a desired length being .of at the most half the length of the bodies,

and finally passing the heatedpacks through rolls for rolling them to finished gauge sheets.

4. That metal rolling process which consists in forming long thin metal bodies by continuous roll action on pieces of a single thickness, permitting said pieces to cool, and sorting them into like lengths without shearing, forming heated packs of the like lengths, 4

- rolls for rollin them to finished gauge, said heated acks "bei cess over required heat and then normalizing the heat by subjection to a temperature substantially that desired for the finishing of the packs.

rolls, todong thin plate, permitting said plate to cool, surface treating the plate, as by cold rolling and pickling or both, forming packs from equal length unsheared pieces which arereheated to required temperature for fin- I n heated by raising the 45 pieces thereof rapidly by e'xposureto an exishing, and then rolling the packs to finished length and hence gauge.

6; That metal rolling process which consists in providing a succession of thick pieces of substantial length, reducing the pieces by successive passes through successive stands of rolls, to long thin plate, permitting said plate 7 to cool. and sorting it into equal lengths without shearing, forming packs from equal length pieces which are reheated to required temperature for finishing, and then-rplling the'packs to finished length and hence gauge.- k JOHN B. TYTUS; 

